Healthy Bronx

On Friday April 23rd U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) delivered a press conference in the Bronx's Parkchester neighborhood calling for The American Job's Plan, President Biden's infrastructure bill, to include funding to transform The Cross Bronx Expressway. After the press conference Ritchie Torres joined Healthy Bronx for an interview to discuss why now is the time to reimagine The Cross Bronx Expressway.

Nilka Martell is a community organizer and an environmental activist in the Bronx. She founded an organization called #Loving The Bronx, which is leading efforts to advocate for capping an exposed portion of the Cross Bronx Expressway, in her neighborhood, in Parkchester. Nilka tells us the story of how she went from being a concerned neighbor to leading environmental justice work throughout our borough over the past decade. Through an unrelenting, yet optimistic approach, Nilka fiercely advocates for environmental justice, to rectify Robert Moses's infamous construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway. Other voices are joining the call and helping to build the case for why it is time to reimagine the Cross Bronx Expressway. Dr. Peter Muennig, a physician and public health researcher at The Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, published an article in 2018 in The American Journal Of Public Health that argued that capping the Cross Bronx Expressway will save money and lives. Justin Sanchez, Director of External Affairs at the Bronx Borough President's Office, is working to elevate proposals to cap the highway in local and municipal politics. Tune in to hear from Nilka, Dr. Muennig & Justin. This episode was produced by Emily Nadal, a journalist for The Mott Haven Herald & Hunts Point Express, and Alexander Levine, a third year medical student at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

In today's episode, we interview Carmen Mojica, a midwife and reproductive justice activist in the Bronx. We hear from Carmen about her work in the community supporting families through COVID-19, along with the many ways in which she advocates for Black, Latinx, and other POC individuals who are pregnant or giving birth. We discuss the role of community, policy, and solutions that exist outside of the medical system in supporting birthing people in the borough, along with the barriers to enacting meaningful policy change. Finally, Carmen sheds light on how colonization, slavery and capitalism are inextricably linked to maternal health, and offers wisdom on healing from intergenerational trauma. Carmen is a cofounder of Bronx Rebirth and Progress, a collective of birth workers and mothers seeking to build alternate solutions outside of the system that protect and honor birthing people in the Bronx. She is also a speaker, facilitator, writer, and faculty member at the Midwives College of Utah. This episode is hosted by Ashley Castillo & Olivia Howell, both first year medical students at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 

This year's City Council elections promise to bring new inspiring leaders from the Bronx to City Hall. Today we focus on candidates contending for the seat in District-15, which became vacant after Ritchie Torres left City Council to become a US Congressman. We interview two candidates running in District-15, Elisa Crespo and John Sanchez; both Elisa and John have developed refreshing and creative policy platforms that will elevate the voices and needs of Bronxites in municipal politics.  Each candidate was provided with a prompt to discuss a policy issue central to their platform that is connected to the health of the borough. Through these conversations we discuss proposals to build a birthing center in the Bronx, to combat food access injustices, and to devise a municipal public option for employment. We look forward to continuing this coverage as the June 22nd City Council primary approaches.  This episode was recorded on Friday, February 26th, 2020. 

How do the built and natural environments within the Bronx impact community members' abilities to achieve a healthy life? In this episode we explore how municipal policy around sustainability is connected to health equity. Our conversation considers how innovative policies around transportation, housing, and food can ultimately improve chronic disease outcomes and allow New Yorkers to better prioritize their health.   Our guests are Mark Chambers, who is currently the Director of Sustainability at the NYC Mayor's Office, and an architect by training, and Dr. Earle Chambers, Ph.D, MPH, Director of Research for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Department of Family & Social Medicine. 

Dr. Chidi Akusobi joined the Healthy Bronx Podcast Tuesday evening, January 19th, to translate the basic science behind the COVID-19 vaccine and to answer questions submitted from Bronx residents in the week preceding our recording. This episode was produced in collaboration with The #Not62 Campaign For A Healthy Bronx. Dr. Akusobi completed his PhD in Infectious Disease last spring at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and he will receive his MD from Harvard Medical School in 2022. Dr. Akusobi was born in Nigeria and moved to the Bronx with his family at the age of 2. His parents and sister work as nurses in the Bronx, and thus he understands how challenging the last several months have been for our community. He looks forward to sharing with you why he received the vaccine and to helping you understand the basic science behind the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. 6:04 - COVID-19 Vaccine development and the basic science 31:50 - answering of questions submitted through Q+A form

The Hunts Point Produce Market is the largest produce market in the world and is located in the South Bronx. The majority of fruits and vegetables that find their way to your local supermarket, bodega, or your favorite restaurant likely passed through the Hunts Point Produce Market, as it supplies 60% of all of NYC's produce. Phillip Grant, the General Manager of The Hunts Point Produce Market, joins us to discuss his work since the pandemic began. We explore the operational challenges imposed by the pandemic on the market, and the produce market's ongoing charitable efforts to donate produce to food insecure Bronx residents. Additionally, we touch upon sustainability and resiliency projects at the Hunts Point Peninsula since Hurricane Sandy.

This episode focuses on the Triboro Subway Proposal, through conversation with the Regional Plan Association's (RPA) Vanessa Barrios, Maulin Mehta, and Moses Gates. RPA has built support for the Triboro since 1996 and continues to advocate for this transformative infrastructure project for The Bronx, Queens, & Brooklyn: 'Running 24 miles on existing track from Co-op City in the Bronx to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, the Triboro would be an above-ground rail line connecting 17 subway lines and 4 commuter lines.' Today's interview also touches upon the most recent federal budget allocations for public transit, public transit advocacy, and other proposed transit and planning programs for the Bronx. Vanessa Barrios is Senior Associate, State Programs & Advocacy @ RPA Maulin Mehta is Senior Associate, State Programs & Advocacy @RPA Moses Gates is Vice President for Housing and Neighborhood Planning @RPA For more on the Triboro: https://rpa.org/work/reports/the-triboro https://citylimits.org/2019/06/19/call-to-study-new-transit-line-linking-bronx-queens-and-brooklyn/

The Bronx's economic anchor institutions, primarily universities and hospitals, collectively spend $9 billion dollars on goods and services annually. However, small-business owners throughout the borough that span every sector, rarely receive these contracts. The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative understands that even when purchasers are willing to increase contracts with local businesses—especially minority-and/or women-owned businesses—they face challenges to doing so. Michael Partis, Executive Director, & Gloria Alvarez, Strategic Partnership Manager, share with us how the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative aims to engage anchor institutions and democratize economic development on behalf of communities and residents in the borough. Learn more about the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative at bcdi.nyc and consider donating to support their work.

Dr. Oladimeji Oki, a Family & Social Medicine physician in the Bronx, discusses what primary care looks like in his practice and shares with us his work to build a pre-clinical medical curriculum to push students' understanding of health equity and community outreach. Our discussion of primary care touches upon: food activism; buprenorphine and opioid use disorder; and forces us to revisit digital equity, as gaps in high-speed internet access pose a barrier to successful video-visits for many patients. This episode also explores how Einstein's Family & Social Medicine Residency program trains physicians to work in and learn from their local community. Dr. Oki is the Theme Director of the Population Health Science Curriculum, Assistant Director of Medical Student Education, Assistant Clerkship Director, and Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Social Medicine at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Desmon and Derrick Lewis grew up in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the South Bronx. Together they founded The Bronx Community Foundation with endorsements from community leaders across the borough, business leaders, and local and state elected officials to address challenges facing the Bronx. Today, we are joined by Desmon Lewis, to discuss their efforts to date: at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic they launched the Bronx Community Relief Effort and raised $16 million dollars, " to support effective, on-the-ground operations that are focused on meeting the most essential needs of the Bronx community." Simultaneously, The Bronx Foundation has identified digital equity as a disparity that impacts many aspects of life for Bronxites. Background Disinvestment Deepens the Impact of COVID-19 and Racism in the Bronx, Editorial written by Desmon Lewis & Wes Caines of Bronx Defenders You can learn more about the The Bronx Community Foundation, The Bronx Community Relief Effort, and Digital Equity at thebronx.org

This episode streams the New York City Student Run Free Clinic Conference's keynote address--Justice For All? Health Equity and The COVID-19 Pandemic--by Dr. Utibe R. Essien, MD, MPH. Dr. Essien's is a leading public health and health equity scholar, whose work provides important insight into understanding social disparities in healthcare and COVID-19 outcomes. Dr. Essien is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, and Core Investigator at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. This year's conference was hosted by Einstein Community Health Outreach (ECHO), Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Student Run Free Clinic, which is based at the Institute for Family Health at The Walton Family Health Center in the Bronx.

Jarrett Murphy, the Executive Editor for City Limits joins The Healthy Bronx Podcast for its second episode. Jarrett's breadth of experience covering city politics, and social and economic issues in New York City for more than a decade provides valuable insight to help us understand city budget cuts, the major issues shaping Bronx district City Council races, and reporting on health in the Bronx. For more background: https://citylimits.org/2020/09/14/early-moves-in-bronx-council-race-preview-what-21-could-look-like-all-over/ episode cover image adapted from City Limits

In the first episode we learn about the NYC Department of Health's community health work in the Bronx through speaking with one its leaders, Fernando Tirado. The breadth of Fernando's work with community organizations throughout the borough gives a sweeping view of local public health efforts, providing a framework for future deeper, narrower dives on a range of topics that intersect with health and politics. Fernando, Tirado is the Director of New Initiatives at the Bureau of Bronx Neighborhood Health Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness, of the New York City Department of Health.